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Welcome to this not-for-profit paywall-free resource database & website created by Michael Vaughan PhD
An award-winnng weekly columnist for Canada's top newpapers including the National Post, Globe& Mail and Financial Times
Dedicated to providing readers with professional unpaid-for non-advertorial reviews

TUESDAY OCTOBER 3, 2023

Vintage Destinations
Until October 28 at the Stratford Festival
LES BELLES-SOEURS

see review from The Globe & Mail
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About Vintage Assessments
See our roots - 30 years & counting
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OUR SUPPORTER-ONLY SECTION
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Download all 2023 Vintages Release Catalogue PDFs
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2023 BUYERS GUIDE

SEE ALL OUR NEW LINKED 2023 VINTAGES RATINGS

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Not-To-Be-Missed Releases
A Vintage Assessments Recommended Best Buy


Alta-Yarí Gran Torrontés 2021

Dry, Gently Spicy, Complex *** (93 points)
Our #1 Vintages White Wine Buy #31667 - $27.95

It's not everyday that you see Argentine Torrontes selling for $27.95. One taste and I knew why. Of the 112 Vintages Torrontes releases Ihave reviewed over the past 23 years, it's the best yet. Bright pale straw colour, this has an attractive, slightly spicy, fairly complex, ripe, yellow-grapefruit nose with lots of minerality along with some citrusy notes. Dry, medium bodied, nicely structured and quite mouthfilling, the intense, ripe, Asian pear flavours are followed up by a lingering, elegantly spicy, faintly grassy, bright, citrusy finish. A sensation with seafood and Thai, sushi and Asian-inspired cuisine.

A winner at 2946 Bloor Street West & Royal York
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LAST CHANCE!
VINTAGES BEST BUYS
Outstanding St. David's Bench Pinot Noir

Queenston Mile Pinot Noir 2017
A Vintage Assessments Recommended Best Buy
Vintages Flagship #10138 - $40.00
Ripe, Complex, Well Structured ***+ (94 points)
Faintly ambering deep red colour, the lovely nose is intense, complex and faintly smoky with ripe Damson plum, black cherry fruit and some raspberry-tinged, gently cedary notes. Dry, medium-full bodied, well structured, harmonious, ripe plummy, black cherry, raspberry-cassis fruit flavours with a lingering, bright, complex, gently cedary finish. Winemaker Rob Power's delicious St. David’s Bench Pinot Noir is definitely worth buying and drinking now. Aged for 16 months in French oak with full malolactic, it has 12.7% alcohol, 3 g/L residual sugar and 6.3 g/L total acidity. Its great mouthfeel is a result of minimal filtration.
As of today only 106 bottles remain in Vintages



NEW VISITOR RESOURCES
PAYWALL-FREE DATABASE
All REVIEWS are Unpaid & Unsolicited

ACCESS TO ALL RELEASES
70,000+ LINKED SCORES/NOTES
click here to SEARCH all reviews

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OCTOBER VINTAGES
CATALOGUES


October 7 Vintages Release Preview
and
October 21 Vintages Release Preview

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September 23 Vintages Release

See our linked
Summary of 114 Vintages releases

September 23 Buyers Guide

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September 9 Catalogue
LINKED BUYERS GUIDE
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August 19 Vintages Catalogue
AUGUST 19 BUYERS GUIDE
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August 5 Vintages Release

See the latest New in VINTAGES Flagship releases

discover an amazing new dry Sherry - the best tasted this year
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THE BIRTH OF VINTAGES

In those days it was called Rare Wines & Spirits and was initially located in 1973 on the LCBO third floor at 43 Freeland Street. It moved to its upscale location across from St. Lawrence Market a year later. Here is the 1st feature on the birth of Vintages.
see Toronto Life article
when BOLLLINGER CHAMPAGNE BRUT 1961 was $16.45
click here to see 1973 LCBO invoice for 2 bottles
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LOOKING FOR A BEST BUY?
557 LINKED LCBO PROMOTION


Our Exclusive LINKED PT7 Summary
388 LTO offers valid until Sunday October 8
169 AirMiles offers valid until Saturday October 7

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Article Archives
includes National Post, Financial Post, etc.
click here to see the of articles
QUESTION
How is it that a classic Best Buy French Rose - an annual Vintages ultra-popular sell-out - was moved by the LCBO without informing the agent to the "everyday list" & is now languishing in just in a handful of stores?
There are over 13,900 bottles TODAY at the LCBO but only 1,588 bottles in 144 outets.
THE ANSWER IS COMING
 

(see Michael Vaughan's Oyster feature)

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